ABOUT THE VIKINGS…the Vikings (7-0-0, 3-0-0 GNAC) continue Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a pair of conference road matches this week…travel to play Central Washington (1-4-2, 0-1-1 GNAC) on Thursday in Ellensburg and then head east to play Montana State Billings (1-6-1, 0-2-1 GNAC) on Saturday at 12 pm MT (11 am PT)…WWU takes a 31-match winning streak into this week’s games (32-match unbeaten streak).

THE NATIONAL RANKINGS…WWU is ranked No. 1 in the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Poll (9/16/17)…also listed No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches West Region rankings…finished the 2016 season as the No. 1 team in the nation after winning the NCAA II National Championship…ranked No. 1 in the last 14 NCAA II polls.

THE WINNING STREAK…dating back to the start of last season, the Vikings have won their last 31 games and are undefeated in their last 32 games (31-0-1)…the 31-game winning streak is the 4th-longest winning streak in NCAA II history and the 32-game unbeaten streak is tied for 7th-longest in NCAA II history…the 32-game undefeated streak is a GNAC record, breaking the mark of 27 by Seattle Pacific (2008-09)…the program record winning streak is 38 consecutive spanning 1982-84.

SCORING MACHINE…WWU leads the nation with 12.43 points per game, and is 2nd in scoring offense with 4.14 goals per game (Central Missouri, 4.25)…leads DII with 29 assists…scored 3-or-more goals in 5 of 7 games, and 17 goals over the last 3 games.

PELOGI’S POINTS…Gabriela Pelogihas scored 20 points (8 goals, 4 assists) in the Vikings first 7 games of the season…recorded a hat trick in 7-1 win at Holy Names, and 7 total points adding an assist…the 7-point effort matched the best individual performance by a Viking during the GNAC era (since 2001), matching Lucy Miller’s 3-goal, assist game on Oct. 11, 2008 at Northwest Nazarene…Pelogi enters the week leading the GNAC in points (20) and goals (8), also ranking among NCAA II leaders in points/game (4th, 4.86), goals (5th) and total points (4th)…here is a look at the all-time WWU leaders in goals and points:

PELOGI TABBED AS PLAYER OF THE WEEK (AGAIN)…Gabriela Pelogihas been named the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring 2 goals, and assisting on one more, during the 2-0 performance last week…was her second GNAC Player of the Week honor this season, and fourth of her career…WWU has had at least one GNAC weekly award in all four weeks this season: Ashley Homer (Defense, Sept. 4-10), Gabriela Pelogi (Offense, Aug. 28-Sept. 3; Sept. 18-24), Annaliese Laurila (Defense, Aug. 28-Sept. 3), Karli White(Offense, Sept. 11-17).

Spreading the Wealth – 9 players have scored a goal for WWU this season (29 goals total lead the GNAC, 5th in NCAA II)…during last season’s national championship campaign, 19 players scored a goal (12 with 2+).

The Transfer – Karli Whiteranks 2nd on the team (and GNAC) with 17 points (6 goals, 5 assists)…scored 15 goals in two seasons at Division I Seattle University…was 3rd-team All-West Region last season.

Player of the Year – Sierra Shugartswas named the Division II National Player of the Year in 2016…back in action after missing first 4 games of the season (injury).

GNAC – WWU won its 5th consecutive GNAC regular-season title and 3rd GNAC Tournament in 2016.

Homegrown – 26 of 31 players on the WWU roster (83.9%) hail from the state of Washington.

History at Harrington– The Vikings have won 27 consecutive home games at Harrington Field, breaking the GNAC record for consecutive home wins set by Seattle Pacific from 2002-04 (22)…overall are 35-1-1 at Harrington Field since the on-campus facility debuted in 2014.

Defense Dominates – WWU has featured the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year in each of the last five seasons, including Emily Websterin 2016.

Coach Connell – WWU head coach Travis Connellis in his 15th season leading the program (22nd overall at WWU)…owns all-time record of 209-64-26 (.742) at the helm of the women’s program and is a six-time GNAC Coach of the Year (2006, 2008, 2013-16).

Winning – WWU entered the 2017 season with a streak of 13 consecutive winning seasons, tied for the 18th-longest streak in NCAA II history.

SERIES HISTORY…here is a look at the all-time series history between WWU opponents this week:

Central Washington → WWU leads the all-time series 38-11-7…beat CWU twice last season, 4-1 on senior night at Harrington Field (10/22) and 2-0 in the NCAA II second round (11/12)…current 5-game winning streak vs. the Wildcats and undefeated in last 11 matches (10-0-1)…7-1 in last 8 trips to Ellensburg.

Montana State Billings → WWU leads the all-time series 19-3-2, including a 11-game winning streak dating back to 2012…12-game unbeaten streak vs. MSUB…7-2 all-time in Billings, including 2-0 win last year.

CHARTING SUCCESS…dating back to the start of the 2013 season (the last five seasons), WWU Women’s Soccer has compiled an impressive 88-5-7 record for a .915 winning percentage...during this 100-game span WWU has won the GNAC regular-season title each season (current streak of five straight) while combining to go 50-1-4 (.945) in GNAC play…amongst all Division II schools, the winning percentage since the start of the 2013 season the BEST amongst all DII schools, followed closely by Grand Valley State (98-7-5/.914).

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2013-2017

Team

W

L

T

W

L

T

W

L

T

W

L

T

W

L

T

W

L

T

Pct.

Western Washington

20

2

1

16

1

4

21

2

1

24

0

1

7

0

0

88

5

7

.915

Grand Valley State

24

0

1

22

2

2

23

1

1

23

2

1

6

2

0

98

7

5

.914

Central Missouri

14

4

2

21

1

2

21

2

1

21

2

0

8

0

0

85

9

5

.884

Minn. St. Mankato

17

3

2

22

1

0

18

2

2

16

3

3

6

1

0

79

10

7

.859

Columbus State

15

6

1

20

2

1

22

3

1

21

3

0

4

1

0

82

15

3

.835

Colorado Mines

19

1

1

16

2

6

15

5

2

20

3

1

5

1

1

75

12

11

.821

Saint Rose

20

1

2

21

1

3

15

3

4

11

7

0

6

0

1

73

12

10

.821

St. Edward's

18

1

3

15

5

0

14

6

1

15

1

3

6

0

2

68

13

9

.806

Notre Dame (OH)

16

2

0

14

3

2

13

5

1

14

2

4

7

1

0

64

13

7

.804

Adelphi

14

3

4

14

5

2

18

3

2

16

4

1

7

0

0

69

15

9

.790

STREAKING AT HARRINGTON…Western has won 27 consecutive home matches, including postseason matches (does not include exhibitions)…home winning streak tied for 10th-longest in NCAA II history (28 is 10th place)…were 12-0-0 in 2015, 13-0-0 last season and 2-0-0 so far in 2017 at Harrington Field…set the GNAC record with 23 consecutive home victories (10/22/16 vs. CWU) breaking the previous mark of 22 consecutive home wins by Seattle Pacific (2002-04)…the Vikings are also unbeaten in their last 42 regular-season home games, breaking the GNAC record by SPU…the last regular-season home defeat was Oct. 27, 2012 vs. Seattle Pacific (Whatcom CC).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS...

#1WWU’s current national ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Division II poll.

3Final Four appearances and West Regional titles over last four seasons (2013, 2015, 2016).

8Goals by Gabriela Pelogito lead the GNAC and tied for 5th in NCAA Division II.

31WWU’s current winning streak, the 4th-longest streak in NCAA II history.

35-1-1Record at Harrington Field since on-campus field debuted in 2014, including a current 27-game winning streak.

37Have not been shut out in last 37 games vs. GNAC opponents (including postseason), setting the conference record (SPU, 36).

45Consecutive GNAC regular-season matches without a loss going 41-0-4 dating back to 2013 (last loss: 10/19/13 at Western Oregon).

88-5-7WWU’s record since the start of the 2013 season (.915), is the best winning percentage amongst DII teams during this time ahead of Grand Valley State (98-7-5, .914).

DOMINATING THE GNAC…WWU is undefeated in its last 56 games vs. GNAC opponents, counting matches in the GNAC Championship and NCAA tournament play…is 50-0-6 vs. GNAC teams dating back to last loss on Oct. 13, 2013 at Western Oregon…56-game unbeaten streak vs. conference opponents is the 4th-longest streak in NCAA II history (57 is 3rd).

LAST WEEK…continued perfect start to the season going 2-0, with a 4-0 win over Simon Fraser at Harrington Field and a 6-1 win at Saint Martin’s…Gabriela Pelogiand Karli Whitehad matching offensive performances with 2 goals and 1 assist each, for the 5-point week…Pelogi earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors…gave up one goal late in the game vs. Saint Martin’s, snapping a string of four consecutive shutouts (470:12 consecutive scoreless minutes).

HAT TRICK…Gabriela Pelogiscored three goals at Holy Names (9/2) for her first career hat trick…marked the fifth hat trick by a WWU player during the GNAC era (since 2001) and the second 7-point performance by a Viking in the last 20 seasons…the single-game WWU record for goals scored is 6 by Annette Duvall vs. UPS in 1983…here is a list of WWU hat tricks since 2001:

GNAC STANDINGS…here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through games of Sept. 26, with WWU and Seattle Pacific both off to 3-0-0 starts (teams play 10/5 in Bellingham):

Standings

GNAC

Pct.

GF

GA

Overall

Pct.

GF

GA

Home

Away

Neutral

Last 10

Streak

Western Washington

3-0-0

1.000

17

1

7-0-0

1.000

29

3

2-0

5-0

0-0

7-0

W 7

Seattle Pacific

3-0-0

1.000

7

2

5-2-0

.714

14

9

3-0

2-2

0-0

5-2

W 3

Concordia

2-0-1

.833

5

0

5-2-1

.688

12

9

3-1

2-0

0-1

5-2-1

W 2

Northwest Nazarene

2-1-1

.625

3

1

5-3-1

.611

14

6

3-1

2-2

0-0

5-3-1

W 1

Simon Fraser

1-2-0

.333

5

8

3-4-0

.429

12

14

1-3

2-1

0-0

3-4

W 1

Central Washington

0-1-1

.250

2

4

1-4-2

.286

11

15

0-1

1-2

0-1

1-4-2

L 1

MSU Billings

0-2-1

.167

1

4

1-6-1

.188

8

14

1-1

0-4

0-1

1-6-1

T1

Western Oregon

0-3-1

.125

1

13

1-6-1

.188

6

22

0-4

1-2

0-0

1-6-1

L 1

Saint Martin's

0-2-0

.000

2

10

0-7-0

.000

3

28

0-3

0-4

0-0

0-7

L 7

2016 SEASON IN REVIEW…WWU won the NCAA Division II National Championship with an undefeated 24-0-1 record…beat three-time defending champion Grand Valley State 3-2 in the national championship game Dec. 3 in Kansas City, MO at Swope Soccer Village…opened the season with a 0-0 tie at Sonoma State, then recorded a GNAC record 24-game winning streak en route to the school’s 10th national championship…advanced to the program’s third Final Four over the last four seasons…won record fifth consecutive GNAC regular-season championship with a perfect 12-0-0 record and won third GNAC Tournament title…advanced to fifth consecutive NCAA II Tournament, posting a 100-9-7 record (.892) over this stretch, the second-best mark in Division II behind GVSU (112-7-8/.913)…finished the season ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA poll.

GNAC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS…the Vikings won their record fifth consecutive GNAC regular-season championship and second straight GNAC Tournament in 2016…finished the conference slate with a perfect 12-0-0 record and breezed through the tournament with wins over Simon Fraser (3-0) and Seattle Pacific (3-1)…the conference final was moved to Bellingham after fog made the game unplayable at Terry Fox Field in Burnaby, BC…WWU remained undefeated in GNAC Tournament play at 8-0-2, playing in the championship game each season since the inaugural game in 2012…WWU and SPU have met in all five of the GNAC Championships Finals, with Western winning three titles and SPU the other two (both on PK shootouts)…this year’s championship will be hosted by Concordia University at Tuominen Yard in Portland (Nov. 2-4).